"The Board of Directors of Real Madrid, meeting today, Monday, March 11, 2019, has decided to terminate the contract that linked Santiago Solari with the club as coach of the first team and, at the same time, Real Madrid has offered to continue belonging to the club.

"Real Madrid appreciates the work done by Santiago Solari and the commitment and loyalty he has always shown to this house.

According to reports from the club, Real were said to have struck a deal with the Frenchman immediately after their Champions League exit last week.

They were hammered 4-1 by Dutch League side Ajax as they crashed out 5-3 on aggregate from the competition they won three consecutive times.

Rumors were on overdrive on Monday, March 10 that Solari was on the verge of a sack, although there was still a wave of uncertainty on who would replace him.